The son talks and it’s the father’s voice, a message delivered by a youngster that could have easily been the mantra of a now-elder-statesman dad.

Seth Jones may be an elite hockey player — a big, talented 16-year-old seen as a surefire NHL prospect — but when he talks, he espouses the same philosophy that carried his dad, former Raptor Popeye Jones, through an 11-year NBA career built more on guile than athleticism.

“He just tells me to think the game, that’s always been really helpful to me,” the younger Jones says in a telephone conversation from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he’s in USA Hockey’s Under-17 developmental program.

“Sometimes you’re not going to be the fastest guy or the quickest or strongest. If you have the mental aspect down and know how to think the game, that’s going to help. That’s the best advice he gives me.”

Considering that’s precisely how his father carried himself through his career, it’s no surprise.

“I’ve always told him the best players understand the game,” Popeye Jones said on the phone from Phoenix, where he was working in his gig as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets. “You have to be smart, you have to think your way around the game.

“Obviously I wasn’t the most athletic kid on the planet, I had to think my way around the game. He’s always been a real good athlete, but he’s got the mental aspect down, too.”

The tale of the two Joneses can be seen as a traditional Canadian story with a decidedly American bent.

Popeye first came to appreciate hockey in his season and a half with the Raptors — a steady diet of Hockey Night in Canada with a heavy dose of Don Cherry got him hooked — and the kids (Seth, his older brother Justin and younger sibling Caleb) got hooked when the family lived in the Denver area about a decade ago.

“As a family, we kind of fell in love with the game,” said Popeye. “We were still trying to figure out the nuances of the game, but the kids just wanted to play and skate.

“Seth always wanted to skate. Even if it was just an open skate and no hockey, he wanted to do it.”

It turned into a typical hockey household with an emerging young talent — three trips to the prestigious Quebec City peewee tournament, other trips to Toronto, Vancouver, a handful of northern United States cities for tournaments — that was helped by associations and friendships Popeye developed over the years.

It was Joe Sakic who first suggested Popeye get Seth and the others involved in power skating classes, first and foremost. When the family lived in Dallas and Popeye worked for the Mavericks, sharing a facility with the NHL’s Stars helped a lot.

“You can tell a kid what it takes but for him to see how professional athletes work out, what it takes to be one, that was just really good for him,” said Popeye.

Leading up to his 2013 NHL draft year, Seth is still torn over whether to play major junior or college hockey when his stint with the Under-17 developmental team is over. But there is no doubt in his mind he chose the right sport, even if he’s not following in his dad’s footsteps.

“Basketball wasn’t a big thing,” said Seth. “I got to love hockey. It’s more up-tempo, there’s not as many whistles or stops and starts. I like the intensity of it and the physical aspect.”

And his dad doesn’t mind at all. Popeye and his wife, Amy, made sure the boys had options, and support.

“My thing as a parent was, if you’re not having fun, you have to tell me,” said Popeye. “I didn’t want any pressure on him, I just wanted him to have fun doing whatever it was he wanted to do.”

The young Jones, a 6-foot-3 defenceman who played for the United States at the recent World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg over the holidays, said he models his game after perennial all-star Nicklas Lindstrom of the Detroit Red Wings.

“He’s a smart player and still one of the best defencemen in the league,” he said. “He’s big, strong and just knows how to play.”

Kind of like what his dad did in basketball — and what the son may do in hockey.

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